Connacht and Munster Provincial Finals Previews

Connacht and Munster Provincial Finals
Could Produce Eventual All Ireland Champions

 

 

The TG4 All Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship gets
into full swing this weekend with both the Munster and Connacht
Championship titles up for grabs and the winners from both matches
will be hotly favoured for the All Ireland title.

Last year’s beaten All Ireland finalists, Galway face a
tough challenge from four time All Ireland Champ’s Mayo at
McHale Park in Castlebar on Sunday.

Galway will be able to call on their four experienced All Stars,
goalkeeper Una Carroll, centre-half-back Aoibheann Daly, and full
forward duo Niamh Fahy and captain Lorna Joyce.

Galway’s captain Lorna Joyce won an all Ireland winners
medal with the Tribeswomen in 2004 and is really looking forward
to the clash with Mayo at the weekend. “We’re dying
for the game, we haven’t had a competitive Championship match
in a good long while and we need to get a game under our belt.
Every game against Mayo is a battle, we know each other so well
but we haven’t played each other for a while so this is going
to be a really tough Championship match.”

Mayo’s own All Star Claire Egan will look to dominate the
midfield and supply her forwards with quality possession with
captain Cora Staunton always a threat in front of goal. Mayo Manager
Charlie Lambert has praised his team’s work ethic and togetherness,
something that was worked on at a recent training camp at the
Curragh. “For us to win on Saturday, everyone has to take
on the responsibility of taking scores, making the crucial challenges
and going in for those 50/50 balls and this is something the whole
panel have been working towards. Everyone is really looking forward
to Sunday.”

At the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, Waterford take on the current
All Ireland Champions Cork in the TG4 Senior Munster Ladies Football
Championship Final.

Waterford’s Captain Mary O’Donnell knows that her side
will have a stern test at the weekend as they try to topple the
current All Ireland champions.

“We’re going out there to win, there’s no point
in going out there if you’re not going to put it to them.
We had a good result against Kerry and we’re improving with
every game and although we have a small panel everyone will be
giving 100% against Cork.”

Cork’s All Star Captain Juliet Murphy has been hampered
recently by an Achilles injury but is hopeful that it will come
right in time for the game against Waterford. “I picked up
the achilles injury in March and it took about six weeks to get
it right but I strained it again a couple of weeks ago and with
the hard ground it has taken a while to ease up but it should
be fine for the weekend.”

Murphy is taking nothing for granted when her team meets Waterford
in the Munster final.

“When we played them earlier in the season they kept coming
at us and although we had the lead they never let up, we weren’t
happy with our last game against Kerry so we will be looking at
our own performance and hopefully have enough to take us through
on Saturday.”

It will be a bumper weekend of Ladies football action at the
Gaelic Grounds with Clare vying for a win against Cork in the
Munster Cailini Oga and the Banner Ladies taking on Limerick in
the TG4 Junior Munster Championship Final on Sunday.

 

Fixtures

Saturday 29th July, 2006

Munster TG4 Senior Championship Final

Cork v Waterford 6.30pm Gaelic Grounds, Limerick

Sunday 30th July, 2006

TG4 Senior Connacht Championship Final

Galway v Mayo 3.45pm McHale Park, Castlebar

TG4 Junior Connacht Championship Final

Leitrim v Sligo 2.00pm McHale Park, Castlebar

 

Munster Cailini Oga

Clare v Cork 3.30pm Gaelic Grounds, Limerick

TG4 Munster Junior Championship Final

Clare v Limerick 4.45pm Gaelic Grounds, Limerick